Volusia School Board OKs budget, lower tax rate

A last-minute "no" vote on the tentative 2013-14 budget earned one of Volusia's newest School Board members a lecture from veteran colleagues.

LINDA TRIMBLEEDUCATION WRITER

DELAND — A last-minute "no" vote on the tentative 2013-14 budget earned one of Volusia's newest School Board members a lecture from veteran colleagues Tuesday even as they voted unanimously for a lower property tax rate. The exchange came at a meeting where the board also spent hours discussing legal services and ultimately rehired Ted Doran as board attorney for the coming year. Linda Costello surprised the board by balking at approving the $749.5 million tentative budget after earlier joining the rest of the board in approving the tentative tax rate. "I feel we have not used a process that incorporates as much transparency as possible," said Costello, who was elected in November. She then suggested the board switch to zero-based budgeting that would start from scratch on all expenses every year. School Board member Candace Lankford said she was "shell-shocked" that Costello would raise those concerns at the last minute after the board spent months discussing the budget in seven workshops. Lankford acknowledged Costello had raised questions about outsourcing fleet maintenance and waste-management services but said she felt staff had justified keeping them in-house. "I'm comfortable with what they said, but I don't have proof" the district wouldn't save money by outsourcing those services, Costello said, because no proposals were sought. "You've got to speak up more," board member Stan Schmidt told Costello. "If you have questions, you need to stand up and bark. That's why the voters put you there." The board voted 4-1 in favor of the tentative budget after the exchange, with Lankford, Schmidt, Diane Smith and Ida Wright prevailing. The tentative tax rate is $7.358 per $1,000 of taxable property value, down 6.7 percent from last year's $7.888. It would generate $191.7 million for the operating and capital budgets that total $593.2 million. The tentative rate is 4.89 percent less than the rolled-back rate of $7.7366, which would produce the same revenue as last year's rate, using new assessments of the same properties. Most of the school tax rate is set by the state, and Volusia's tentative rate is the maximum allowed by state law. The owner of a $125,000 home with a $25,000 homestead exemption for school taxes would pay $735.80. The board will vote on a final budget and tax rate on Sept. 10. In other action Tuesday, the board unanimously renewed its contract with Doran's Daytona Beach law firm to serve as School Board attorney for another year despite a request from two prominent firms to open up the selection to others. Doran's earnings from representing the school district and other public agencies were criticized by opponents' supporters last year in his hard-fought, unsuccessful campaign for county chair. The Daytona Beach law firms of Smith Hood Bigman and Cobb Cole had told the board last spring they could save the district money by taking over as its attorney. Another Daytona Beach attorney, Jim Rose, also had expressed interest in the job. Doran earned $37,833 as board attorney for the year ending June 30 and his firm was paid another $372,813 representing the district in various legal matters. Board members said they'd decide in January whether to open up the attorney selection process next year, possibly for a contract to run as long as three to five years.

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